From The Gorgeous To The Offensive, 26 Surprising Vintage Restaurant Menus

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Gazing at a restaurant menu may seem like a rather humdrum affair, but it's one of the first -- and most immediate -- ways to understand an eatery's overall aesthetic and values.

Of course, aesthetics and values change over time and across place. This means that when we look at old menus, we're not just looking at descriptions of food, but taking a peek at how different places, different socioeconomic groups, and so on approached the meal.

The vintage menus above (appear in chronological order from 1931-1961) reveal just that.